


local protective not-boyfriend

by halfwheeze



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, protective!ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 16:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13170618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwheeze/pseuds/halfwheeze
Summary: "Okay I thought of another one: so Shane being protective is my life blood, but what about Ryan being protective?? What would that look like? Thnx ilysm" - prompt from Ghostwheeze





	local protective not-boyfriend

 

His jaw is clenched hard enough that Ryan can almost taste blood in his mouth, even as he knows that he hasn’t broken any skin. He doesn’t like to watch Shane get scared, because he’s a good fucking friend and this is ridiculous, this VR gaming shit could be tested out on someone else. He hates their job sometimes, hates that sometimes he or Shane would get signed onto shit they would normally never do themselves, and he hates it a lot when Shane is twitching at nothing and shouting. He wants to punch one of their executives, and it’s not even really their fault; they’re as much a part of the system as he and Shane are. 

When it’s all said and done, Shane looks pumped, like he’s just run a fucking marathon without the sweat, and Ryan just feels like ripping someone’s fucking head off. He’s not mad at Shane for not being affected by his own fear afterwards, but he is mad at literally everyone else for making Shane get scared in the first place. He’s just being a good friend. And if being a good friend means walking Shane back to their shared desk after that horror VR session, well, then that’s what Ryan does. The rest of the day passes with Ryan growing increasingly more snappish with most everyone, though least of all with Shane. It’s the oddity of Ryan not getting mad at  _him_ that has Shane wanting to ask questions. It’s their usual movie night tonight, so Shane seizes the opportunity to interrogate Ryan once they’re in the other’s apartment. 

“Uh. Ry? Have you been okay today?” Shane asks as he toes off his shoes by Ryan’s front door, passing his coat to Ryan to hang up. They’ve had the same routine every Thursday for the past two years, and Shane sinks into the familiarity of it even as much as he hates asking questions. Meanwhile, Ryan swallows as he prepares himself to lie, throwing together a response in his head like the shittiest mixtape of all time. 

“What? I’m good. Just another day at the office,” he jokes, shrugging off his own jacket to put next to where he puts Shane. Ryan decidedly does not linger in looking at how his hoodie looks next to Shane’s denim jacket, the picture of domesticity. He toes off his shoes next to Shane’s as well, again not lingering on his sneakers next to Shane’s, and not thinking about how this arrangement could look every day of his life instead of on Thursdays and the occasional Saturday. He doesn’t think about wanting Shane around all the time, about wanting to cover Shane with his body and keep everything out. He doesn’t think about holding Shane close to his chest and focusing solely on him. 

“Bullshit, Bergara. You’ve been snappy and shit since lunch, and explanations are cool! You snapped at  _Quinta_ earlier - are you trying to die?! I just wanna know why you’re freakin’ out, man,” Shane says the last part soft, because he thinks it might work better, and he tries not to feel satisfied as Ryan deflates from his little posturing stance. Shane watches as Ryan sits cross legged on the couch, simply sitting next to him instead of prompting him further before he’s ready. Ryan contemplates jumping out of his own window before running into the fact that he’s going to have to actually tell Shane what’s up, or the giant will never leave it alone. It’s a little funny that Shane thinks it started at lunch though; VR was an hour before lunch. 

“I’m not freaking out. I don’t know. The VR shit was… wild.  Set my teeth on edge, I guess,” Ryan explains with explaining, trying to keep it as brief as possible, because Shane isn’t an actual idiot. Shane’s actually a pretty smart guy, it’s one of the things that Ryan likes about him, but it would take him a long time to enumerate the things he likes about Shane, so we’ll keep it at that. He can see the consideration on Shane’s face and he doesn’t like it, wishes he hadn’t said anything at all. Shane has a moment, and then a light bulb basically flashes above his head. 

“You weren’t even in the… Ryan. Why would the VR have freaked you out? I was in there, not you,” Shane leads, raising an eyebrow. He’s gonna look really fuckin’ dumb if he’s wrong about this, so he’s not going to leap to that conclusion himself. Ryan Bergara’s dumb ass will have to dig his own hole, though, if he freaked out for the reasons that Shane thinks he did, it’s not much of a hole at all. In fact, if it’s for the reasons Shane thinks, it’s basically a fucking miracle, and Shane’s chest feels warm just from thinking he could be right. Immediately to his left, Ryan Bergara goes through the five stages of grief in fast forward. 

“I don’t like it when you’re… scared. You’re my friend, and it fre- it’s not my favorite thing, when you’re  _saying_ you’re scared, because you never say that kinda shit and… I never want you to be scared. It makes me… well it makes me snap at our coworkers, for example,” Ryan finishes, attempting to lighten it up with a joke. The  _friend_ thing nearly throws a wrench in Shane’s light mood, but he can work with wording. 

“You protective, Bergara?” Shane asks, raising his eyebrows. He’s delighted when Ryan can’t seem to look him in the eye, and more cemented in his assumption. “Are you, Ry?” Shane asks, same tone of voice but just a little more stringent, imploring, just a touch more tense. Ryan actually looks up this time, but his eyes are focusing just above Shane’s shoulder, he can tell. It’s an acting trick that Shane learned in improv too. 

“Maybe a little. Fuck off, Madej. I don’t like… seeing you scared. I never want you to be scared,” Ryan repeats, still not looking directly at Shane. It takes all the self control that Shane has not to tilt Ryan’s chin up and just kiss that expression off of his face. He’s a little shocked to say the least when Ryan pulls him over, pulling Shane against Ryan’s neck and holding him there as Shane relaxes into it. It’s not the development he expected, but he’s not mad. 

“You okay, Ryan?” Shane asks, settling with his arms around Ryan’s neck, his torso stretched awkwardly across the couch. It doesn’t hurt, as much as it’s slightly uncomfortable, so Shane doesn’t really mind it. Ryan’s hand is awkward on the back of his neck, but Shane finds himself not minding that either. 

“Sorry,” Ryan says quietly, the most insecure small thing that Shane has ever heard him say, and that’s not okay. Shane doesn’t know exactly what he’s thinking when he slides into straddling Ryan’s lap, but he knows that he wants to be closer to Ryan, and he  _thinks_ Ryan may feel the same way. He hopes, anyway. “Uh. Shane?” Ryan asks, unsettled, but he also doesn’t push Shane out of his lap. 

“I like the protective streak. I like  _you_. I don’t know how to do this and talk like a grown up. I really hope this is okay,” Shane rambles a little bit against Ryan’s neck, not willing to look at the other man’s face. He’s reassured as Ryan’s hands land on his thighs, squeezing them and keeping Shane on Ryan’s lap securely. He feels secure in Ryan’s hold, and even so much as he usually feels safe,  _secure_ is new. 

“God, I like you too. I was a dick at the office because I like you and our execs get to scare you and that’s not okay but they’re literally our bosses so I can’t exactly… I don’t know how to describe it. I almost punched Eugene in the face when he got too close to you in the kitchen during a break. That would not have been fun. He was just getting milk. I’m sorry I’m like this - and I would like to provide that I just almost said lmao out loud,” Ryan finishes, laughing against Shane’s throat. Shane can feel the vibration of it against his chest and it’s fantastic, getting to feel it as well as hear it. He sits back to look Ryan in the face. 

“You just did say lmao out loud, you realise that, right?” he jokes, poking Ryan in the pudge of his stomach. 

“Shut up, Shane,” Ryan laughs, and Shane knows that this won’t change any of the good things. 


End file.
